A.N.- I'm glad everyone really liked the last chapter! I had fun writing it. Since the last chapter was pretty long I've made this one shorter.
Quick disclosure: I don't write smut, so everything is vague and TV-14. Enjoy :)
Song: The Civil Wars - Dust to Dust
Belle was practically paralyzed with happiness. She was lying in bed, Klaus's bed, and he was next to her - they were facing one another. The storm had passed and the room was silent, aside from the sounds of their breathing and gentle heartbeats. His eyes were closed as he slept, perfectly content.
She, on the other hand, couldn't sleep if her life depended on it. Her eyes were tired, but her mind reeled endlessly as thoughts of what had happened just a few hours earlier consumed her.
The wind continued to howl and the rain continued to pour, but they didn't care. They were caught up in the moment, entangled in the other's embrace. Klaus pulled away, keeping his hands on her waist. Belle whimpered quietly at the loss of contact "We should get inside." He pressed his forehead against hers, raindrops trickling down his face.
Despite how much she wanted to stay in that moment, she knew that she wanted him more. She nodded, struggling to find her voice. "Okay." He took her hand and they ran back inside, first at a human's pace, then at a vampire's.
They managed to get up to his room without running into anyone, which was surprising. She wouldn't have cared either way; she wasn't embarrassed.
As soon as he closed the door, she found herself pressed up against the wall. His eyes gleamed with mischief as his lips formed his signature smirk. She moved a wet curl away from her face as she smirked back at him. Klaus took her small hands in one of his own and pinned them above her head before crashing his lips against hers.
She wrapped one of her legs around him and he held onto her firmly as she wrapped the other around his hip. "Thank God for vampire-strength," she thought. He chuckled - either he had a good idea about what she was thinking, or her guard was down and he had read her thoughts. She didn't have time to think about it before he moved her to the bed.
They helped each other out of their soaked clothes, tossing them carelessly onto the floor in random directions.
Belle thought back to their night together in New York and how different it was from this one. They weren't fuelled primarily by liquor or by lust, but by passion. Pure, undisputable passion that burned brighter and hotter than any star in the galaxy. She knew it and he knew it. It wasn't the beginning of the end, as she had once feared. No, it was the start of something.
She smiled to herself, reaching a hand up to stroke his face ever so slightly. He must have been a light sleeper, unlike her, because his eyes fluttered open at her touch. "You should be asleep. It's late." His voice thick with sleep.
She shook her head. "I'm afraid to go to sleep." Her eyes flickered away from his for a second before returning.
Seeming concerned, he blinked a few times to wake himself up a little more. "Why?" He reached out and took her hands in his own, pulling them to his chest. She smiled as she felt the warmth that radiated from him.
Her eyes were locked on his; they were both honest and gentle. "Because I'm afraid that when I wake up tomorrow this will all have been a dream, and I don't want it to be."
He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "I promise you that it won't." He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips before drifting back to the comforting arms of sleep. She noticed how innocent he looked when he slept, no longer the so-called big bad hybrid that many people feared and despised. He was just Klaus, her Klaus. She smiled at the thought. This strong, ruthless, beautiful man was hers and she was his.
Her eyes were too heavy to stay open any longer. She leaned her head against his chest before falling asleep.
The next morning, she surprisingly awoke before Klaus did. She was tempted to go back to sleep, but an idea popped into her head that she just couldn't resist putting into action.
She got out of bed as quickly and as quietly as physically possible. She gathered her clothes and slipped on her bra, shirt, and panties before he started to stir. She dashed into his bathroom to hide, waiting for him to wake up. She was going to give him a taste of his own medicine so he'd know how it felt to wake up alone, like she had to back in 1922.
He stretched his arms out in front of him, reaching for someone that was no longer there. He opened his eyes which were filled with confusion. His brows knit together as he sat up and looked around the room. It was only funny for about three tenths of a second. His confusion quickly turned to hurt, which would no doubt turn to anger if she hid any longer.
She poked her head out from the door frame. A playful grin stretched across her lips. "Morning."
He smiled at her, his expression quickly softening. "Good morning." He sat up straighter and folded his arms behind his head. "What are you doing?"
She walked back to the bed and flopped down next to him. She propped herself up by her elbow as she let her eyes briefly wander over his exposed torso before looking into his eyes. "I was giving you a taste of what it's like when someone sneaks out on you." His expression hardened a little. "It's not fun, is it?"
"You can't let things go, can you?" His eyes were locked on hers.
She immediately regretted her actions. Seeing him happy was a rare thing and she didn't want to ruin it.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, avoiding his eyes.
He gently grabbed her chin with his thumb and index finger and forced her to look into his apologetic eyes. "I know I shouldn't have done what I did then, and I'm sorry. Hurting you was the last thing I wanted to do." He grazed his fingers along her cheek. She smiled, unable to stay mad at him.
"I forgive you." Against her better judgement, she didn't press the subject further.
She leaned in and planted a light kiss on his lips. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in, kissing her deeper. She was soon intoxicated by him as he trailed kisses down her neck, nipping at her collarbone. He gripped the hem of her shirt as he tugged it over her head. She pulled his back to her and kissed him again.
The moment was short-lived; a loud knock interrupted them when it echoed from the door.
They pulled away and groaned in irritation. "What?" they demanded in unison.
Marcel cautiously opened the door. His mouth gaped at the scene that was unfolded before him. He quickly snapped it shut. "Sorry to...interrupt, but there's something you might wanna see, Belle." He seemed a little embarrassed at the sight of her in bed with Klaus in her underwear, though she was unphased by it.
She sighed. "This better be good." She threw the covers off of her side, grabbed her shirt from the foot of the bed and got up, not caring who saw her as she walked in nothing but her bra and panties to Klaus's bathroom. She slammed the door shut.
While she was changing, she listened to the conversation that was taking place just beyond the door. "What does she want?" she heard Klaus ask.
"I don't know, she won't say," Marcel said in a low voice.
Her interest peaked. Who were they talking about. She opened the door, tugging down her shirt. "What's going on?"
Klaus grabbed a gray Henley from his dresser and pulled it on.
Marcel gestured for her to follow him. "Come with me." He turned around and headed for the door. She turned to Klaus for some sign, but found none. What was going on?
Klaus trailed behind Belle as she followed Marcel, who led them downstairs into one of the spare rooms. He paused at the doors and turned to face her. "I think you two already know each other." There was something mysterious about his tone. Unable to wait any longer, she shoved Marcel to the side and flung open the wide double-doors. An audible gasp escaped her lips as she came face-to-face with the person she hated most in the world, the pain of her existence, her mortal enemy, Charlotte.
Her fire-red hair covered half of her face as she looked up from the chair she was tied to. She smiled weakly at Belle. "Hello deary. Long time, no see."